VIDEO: Clipper 2017-18 Race Start Recap

26 August 2017

VIDEO: Clipper 2017-18 Race Start Recap:

Held biennially, the Clipper 2017-18 Round the World Yacht Race got underway August 20 for the fleet of twelve identical Tony Castro designed Clipper 70s. The 40,000 nm course is divided into 13 individual races with the team having the best cumulative score winning the Clipper Race Trophy. Each team is led by a professional skipper with an all-amateur crew that signs up for one, some, or all the races. The 2017-18 race, expected to take 11 months, has attracted 712 people representing 41 nationalities, making it the largest to date.

The Clipper Race Fleet is well on its way to Punta del Este, Uruguay, but let’s take a look back at where it all began; Race Start in Liverpool.

“A lot of programs focus on combat wounded, but we don’t take that stance,” said Jen French, co-founder of the Warrior Sailing Program. “It could be a veteran who is a cancer survivor or blind due to a reaction from a vaccine or diabetes.”

Military veterans and active duty personnel who have been diagnosed with a disability are welcome to participate in the Warrior Sailing Program, an Annapolis Yacht Club-sponsored Basic Training Camp taking place over three days from October 17-19, 2017, in the shadow of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Among the approximate 250 participants in the Warrior Sailing Program, about 75 percent suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (P…